


The Solitary Protagonist

by OccupationLove



Series: September 30 fic Challenge [4]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Gen, Light Angst, Looking for love, People Watching, ambiguous love interest, comic book artist South Korea, it could be literally anybody, jogging for fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-20
Updated: 2019-09-20
Packaged: 2020-10-24 20:51:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20712353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OccupationLove/pseuds/OccupationLove
Summary: His comic book had so many characters but it seemed like the protagonist was the least developed.





	The Solitary Protagonist

**Author's Note:**

> So I've never written a story that included South Korea so if this is awful I'm sorry.   
This is fic #4 for my September Fic Challenge  
If you have any questions feel free to ask them on tumblr @occupationlove

Yong Soo tossed his pencil to the side, ready to take a break after a long day of work. He glanced over all of the concept sketches and finished designs; everyone was going to love what he had in store...if and when he finally released the comic. Until then, he would be stuck with the crazy schedule he’d set up for himself. He’d work four days a week at his “real” job (a boring cashier job at the bookstore down the road) and he’d draw as much as he possibly could on his three days off. Every day he got a little bit closer to his dream, his goal, his inspiration.

One day he would be a comic book artist and author. 

He just needed to finalize his characters and he could start drawing the panels. He had finished the story nearly a year ago he just had to figure out how the characters fit into it. Sighing, he got up from the desk and stretched his arms above his head. After a very satisfying back pop, he made his way to the front door and put his shoes on. It was time for his break time routine: he’d take a run around the block, come back, take a shower, and get back to drawing.

He took a deep breath and started jogging in place before he even opened the front door. He used to hate exercising but he’d started running to burn off some energy after a particularly frustrating character session. Although that had been when he was still trying to draw on his “real” job days. He’d learned his lesson since then but he’d fallen in love with running in the time before he changed his schedule. So, whenever he needed a break he’d just take a short run and clear his mind. 

Or maybe he runs to fill his mind. Every time he left his apartment he saw new people and new faces. He saw new interactions and conflicts every day. It was good for his writing. It was good for his character development. Actually, if he was being honest, he just really loved people watching. He spent most of his time alone or at work but he loved watching people talk to each other. Flashes of moments that were meant to be private and touches that were meant only for the other people. He saw them from a distance and twisted them into scenes. A girl desperately trying to hold her boyfriend’s hand and a mother chastising her wayward son on the sidewalk.

Jogging around the block gave him different perspectives and ideas for backstory. Then, by the time he got back home and took a shower, he would internalize the details and start spinning the rest of the story. Which helped him out a lot when he was trying to figure out how he wanted his characters to behave. What it didn’t help was his main character who, while loosely based off himself, actually interacted with these people. And his ability to contextualize that was compromised when all he had ever done was run past these people. 

It was actually what he was having trouble with in his comic. He’d try to imagine how the main character fit into all of the situations in a cool or interesting way but he’d just find himself imagining how awkward it would be if he just walked up to strangers on the street and started talking to them. Intimate, loving moments between couples would suddenly become a fumbling mess of a dude who obviously can’t read social cues. And that’s not the kind of guy he was. He was cool and confident and determined. He was an art prodigy and a good person and everything anyone would ever want in a friend. 

But he was also quiet and reserved and only really talked to people he was close to or worked with. His friends all thought he was loud and animated and over-the-top. Strangers though? He probably seemed like the loner kid in those American movies he liked as a kid: always sitting in the back corner, not talking to anyone, head down in a book or a notebook. Which was fine. There was no problem with that. But maybe that’s why he wanted his protagonist to be so personable. Maybe there was some part of him wished he did talk to all the people on the sidewalk. Or maybe he wanted to be one of the strangers: holding hands, arguing, so obviously attached to their companion that it seemed like they were tied together. 

“ _ It doesn’t matter,” _ he thought as he finished his run and found himself back at the door to his apartment. He shook his head, trying to clear the thought, and got ready for his shower. It wasn’t like he was lonely or anything. He had plenty of friends and he talked to them all the time. He guessed he thought that maybe...it’d be nice to be in love. But he was focused on becoming the best comic book artist/writer ever and he didn’t have time to be talking to people on the streets. So, unless the love of his life burst into his life in a way that didn’t require extra effort, he’d probably be the solitary protagonist for a while yet. 

He reached into the shower to turn the water on but there was a knock at the front door before he managed to get that far. That was strange. He wasn’t expecting any visitors and he knew that none of his friends had texted him about coming over. And he had been the only person living on his end of the hallway so it was rare for the other residents to be knocking. Sighing, he shuffled back to the door just as another set of knocks echoed through the room. The second set was quieter, more uncertain. 

Yong Soo opened the door without looking through the peephole, curiosity getting the better of him. Immediately, he was greeted with the most beautiful face he’d ever seen. Before he was even able to open his mouth, his heart was trying to beat out of his chest. 

“Hi! I just moved in across the hall and I saw you go into your apartment and I wanted to introduce myself. Sorry if this is weird! I’m--”

Maybe he could add another protagonist to his story. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading! All comments and kudos are appreciated <3


End file.
